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Japan protests over China’s complaint about fighter jets

“Japan said on Monday it had protested to China over a Chinese complaint that Japanese fighter jets had engaged in “dangerous and unprofessional” behavior when they scrambled at the weekend as Chinese aircraft flew near Japanese islands.

Chinese military aircraft on Saturday flew between Japan’s Okinawa and Miyako islands, and over waterways near self-ruled Taiwan – seen by Beijing as a renegade province – as part of long-range exercises, Taiwan said.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said in a statement on Saturday that two Japanese F-15 fighter jets flew over the Miyako Strait and conducted “close range interference”, firing decoy flares and “jeopardizing the security of Chinese aircraft and pilots”.

Yang said China had grave concerns and lodged a protest over the behavior of the Japanese aircraft during what he called “routine” drills in international waters.